Popular flea & tick collar tied to 1,700 pet deaths; EPA received more than 75,000 complaints but Seresto, the makers of the flea collar, contends that “there is no link between deaths and exposure” . . .You decide.
In March of 2021 an investigation reported more than 75,000 complaints about the Seresto brand of flea and tick collars were sent to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Later it reported the deaths of over 1,700 dogs and cats. This was according to a report co-published by Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting and USA TODAY.
According to Dr. Barbara Royal a Chicago-based veterinarian, “We hate ticks. We hate fleas. But when I go out in the woods, I don’t put a pesticide collar around my neck so that I don’t get fleas and ticks, because I know it’s probably a bad idea to have a pesticide on me.”
“It’s disturbing because I know people are always trying to find something a little bit less toxic and effective at the same time, and it can be very difficult for them to find a product that’s going to work,” she said.
These popular collars that were sold on Amazon, Chewy.com, big-box pet stores and often in veterinary offices, released a small amount of the pesticides over eight months.
“No pesticide is completely without harm, but EPA ensures that there are measures on the product label that reduce risk,” an EPA spokesperson told USA TODAY and the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. “The product label is the law, and applicators must follow label directions. Some pets, however, like some humans, are more sensitive than others and may experience adverse symptoms after treatment.”
According to Dr. Royal, the founder and owner of the Royal Treatment Veterinary Center in Chicago, “These collars are a bad solution to a difficult problem”.
Because these flea collars seemed like they might be less toxic, people left them on too long. These extended-release type flea collars increase the risk of a toxic event because they’re putting out something that’s a little bit more variable in how much pesticide is put onto your dog.
Elanco, the pharmaceutical company that owns Seresto, posted a statement on their website following the report, saying “there is no established link between death and exposure to the active ingredients contained in Seresto.” Elanco went on to state, “We take the safety of our products very seriously, and thoroughly investigate potential concerns related to their use . . .a report is not an indication of cause. . .and more than 25 million Seresto collars have protected dogs and cats in the U.S. from fleas, ticks and the resulting tick-borne illnesses.”
There is no established link between death and exposure to the active ingredients contained in Seresto.
The reporting rate for all adverse events related to Seresto is less than 0.3% of all collars sold since 2012 – defined by the WHO (World Health Organization) as “uncommon”.
The significant majority of these incidents relate to non-serious effects such as application site disorders – reddening of the skin or hair loss below the collar.
As a globally marketed product, more than 80 regulatory authorities around the world, including the US EPA, rigorously reviewed the safety data collected over the course of Seresto’s development prior to registration and/or approval, as appropriate.
Further, the safety and efficacy of Seresto are continuously monitored and scrutinized by global regulatory bodies as well as via internal processes.
Source: CHICAGO (NewsNation Now); Michael Geheren and Rudabeh Shahbazi, March 2021.
Comments